Sea Consortium-controlled feeder operator X-Press Feeders has placed an order for sixteen 1,170 teu dual-fuel newbuild containerships that can operate on regular fuel or green methanol.
The vessels will be built by China’s New Dayang Shipbuilding and Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding Group, with each of them supplying eight units.
The first boxships will enter X-Press Feeders’ Europe and Americas trade routes by Q4 2023, with all vessels joining the fleet by the end of 2024.
“We are very excited to commission the building of these ships, that will provide cutting edge technology to deliver a balance of environmental sustainability and operational excellence. The X-Press Feeders Group is committed to maintaining an eco-friendly approach to expanding and modernising our global operated fleet,” said Shmuel Yoskovitz, CEO of X-Press Feeders.
Maersk set the ball rolling for methanol-fuelled boxships earlier this year, with orders for a feeder and a series of larger 15,000 teu vessels. In recent months, X-Press Feeders has voiced its backing for three forms of propulsion to power the next generation of vessels: methanol, ammonia and atomic.
